Connecticut's Coastal Towers

New London Harbor Lighthouse

Handout

New London Harbor Lighthouse

New London Harbor Lighthouse (Handout)

More than 20 lighthouses dot Connecticut’s coastline, providing classic New England vistas and reminding us of the state’s rich maritime history. One of the most fascinating lighthouses is the easiest to enjoy, the New London Ledge Lighthouse, a French chateau at the mouth of the Thames River.

“There is no other building like it. There is no other lighthouse like it,” says Todd Gipstein, of the New London Ledge Lighthouse Foundation. “A lot of people have lived their whole lives here and have never been out to the lighthouse. They’ve seen it from their sailboats or the beaches, but they’ve never actually been on it.”

Now, the lighthouse is accessible to visitors through a Project Oceanology tour (www.oceanology.org) that leaves from UConn’s Avery Point campus three times a week in July and August. Recently renovated, the lighthouse features exhibits and a display of photographs. Visitors can climb to the lantern room, 68 feet above the water, and enjoy views of six other lighthouses.

This remote yet remarkable site is also famous for being haunted. A lighthouse keeper during the 1920s is said to have thrown himself to his death after his wife ran away with a ferry boat captain. “Keepers who have served out there say boats become untied, books fall of shelves, the TV goes on and off, and the foghorn goes off on a sunny day,”says Gipstein.

On another tour, sightseers can go past the Ledge Lighthouse. The Downeast Lighthouse Cruise — a two-hour ride aboard an authentic lobster boat, the Escape— takes visitors by the New London Ledge Lighthouse as well as four other beacons (www.downeastlighthousecruises.com). The Escape departs from Pine Island Marina in Groton.

“The first lighthouse we see is the Avery Point Lighthouse, one of the last lighthouses built in Connecticut,” says Capt. Jeff Dziedzic. He then heads by the Morgan Point Lighthouse, now a privately owned home. In the New York waters of Fishers Island Sound, you can see a quirky spot, North Dumpling Island.

Owned by the inventor of the Segway scooter, Dean Kamen, the island with its lighthouse is flanked by a duck boat, a mini-Stonehenge and a wind turbine.

The trip ends with a view of New London Harbor Light, one of the oldest lighthouses in the nation. The Escape offers an intimate experience for two to six passengers. Bring apicnic lunch, or arrange to stop at Ford’s Lobsters or Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough, both in Noank.

“It’s such a different experience being on the water,” says Dziedzic, who runs trips daily in the summer. “If you go out three times in a row, you’ll see something different everytime.”

But wait, there’s more…. A Haddam-based boat makes its way down the Connecticut River in the warm months to offer visitors a look at two Old Saybrook lighthouses that are not open to the public. The River Quest (www.ctriverquest.com), a catamaran-style vessel, is known for its swallow spectacular trips, eagle-viewing expeditions, Selden Island explorations and kid’s cruises with narration and views of Gillette Castle.

“We’re focused on environmental issues and history,” says Capt. Mark Yuknat. Several times each summer, the boat embarks on a four-hour round-trip outing into Long IslandSound to glimpse the Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, a white, sparkplug-style structure at the tip of Fenwick, an exclusive community that once was home to actressKatharine Hepburn. Known as Outer Light, it was built in 1886 and is featured on Connecticut’s “Preserve the Sound” license plates. Outer Light’s companion, Inner Light, also known as the Lynde Point Lighthouse, was built in 1803.

And at the opposite end of the state…. Next, head south to see the beacons of Fairfield County. Captain’s Cove Seaport in Bridgeport (www.captainscoveseaport.com) hosts a 45-minute weekend cruise from mid-June through the end of September. The Black Rock Harbor Light, also known as the Fayerweather Island Lighthouse, a stone tower from 1821, is the main attraction. You’ll also spy Fairfield’s Penfield Reef Lighthouse, built from wood and granite in the late 1800s, but only from a distance as the lighthouse is close to treacherous rocks.

“Black Rock was the largest seaport west of New London in Connecticut from the 17th century through the Civil War,” says Capt. Bruce Williams.

Farther south in Norwalk, lighthouse buffs can go inside the classic 1868 Sheffield Island Lighthouse on the 52-acre island. Although it looks almost identical to six other lighthouses, including Morgan Point in Groton, this former home has rooms decorated with period furniture, vintage maps and old photographs.

Visitors leave a dock near the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk for a 40-minute boat ride past a string of more than a dozen small islands.

“The trip on the ferry boat is a history lesson in itself,” says Peter Bondi, of the Norwalk Seaport Association (www.seaport.org).

“Once you hit the lighthouse, you get an extensive tour of the interior. You’re able to see the restoration projects that we’ve accomplished over the past couple of years.” Weekday cruises run from late June through early September.